Billet discharging



Decflo, 196s R. M. SCANLON BILLET DIscHARGING 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. `28, 1967 IM/ENTOR. '24496997' Y 52591/4464/ By QQ y Wwf/Uff;

Dec. l0, 1968 R. M. scANLoN 3,415,393

BILLET DISCHARGING Filed Nov. 28, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o l 2565,97' fl?. SMM/.ou

BY Fl 6. ,cfm/@Mers United States Patent O 3,415,393 BILLET DISCHARGING Robert M. Scanlon, Grand Rapids, Mich., assigner to Granen Equipment, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 686,122 10 Claims. (Cl. 214-29) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to the retrieval of a billet from the discharge end of a heating furnace. A billet retrieving member is advanced into the exit end of the furnace and a wedging surface on the retrieving member pushes the end billet upwardly until the billet falls onto the billet retrieving member. The falling of the billet actuates a switch which stops the inward movement of the billet retrieving member and causes the same to begin retracting from the furnace. After the billet has been removed from the furnace, the billet strikes a stop member which positions the billet for further treatment. A switch is actuated by the movement of the billet to the stop position. A switch then causes a pusher to roll the billet laterally down an inclined surface for further processing.

This invention relates to billet discharging. In one of its aspects it relates to a method of retrieving la billet from a discharge portion of a heating zone in which a billet retrieving member with a forward wedging surface is advanced into the furnace, the billet retrieving member forces the outer end of the billet upwardly and wedges beneath the billet until the billet falls onto the retrieving member, and wherein the billet retrieving member is stopped and retracted as soon as the billet has fallen onto the retrieving member.

In another of its aspects the invention relates to an apparatus for removing billets from a furnace in which they have been heated, the apparatus comprising a billet retrieving member adapted to move into and out of the exit end of a billet heating furnace, a tapered forward end on the billet retrieving member adapted to raise the outer end of a billet upwardly as the billet retrieving member is moved into the furnace whereby the billet outer end will be raised to such an extent that it will fall onto the billet retrieving member to be wholly supported thereby, means for moving the billet retrieving member into and out of the furnace, and switching means associated with the billet retrieving member and the moving means to z control the movement of the billet retrieving member so as to stop the movement of the billet retrieving member into the furnace and to commence the movement of the billet retrieving member out of the furnace, the switch being actuated by the billet as it falls onto the billet retrieving member.

Aluminum extrusions require that the metal billets for the extrusion machine be heated to a predetermined temperature. Conventionally, the billets have been conveyed through a heating furnace intermittently on a conveyor system. Generally, only one billet can be processed at a time. Thus, the billets must be removed from the furnace one at a time while keeping the other billets in the furnace. It is therefore necessary to have some way to remove the billets singularly from the furnace.

Different size billets can be processed by the same furnace for use in making different extrusion products. The discharge mechanism must be adapted to adjust to different size billets. For example, if two extrusion presses were simultaneously run with different size billets, both heated in the same furnace, it would be necessary to alternately remove dierent size billets from the furnace. In

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this case, there would be no opportunity to adjust the removal mechanism each time a billet is removed from the furnace. The removal mechanism should select a single billet regardless of its length or diameter.

I have now discovered a billet retrieving and removal apparatus which automatically will pick up one billet at a time regardless of the size or shape of the billet. The billet retriever advances into the furnace until a billet falls onto it, stops, and retreats. The billet retriever properly positions the billet in the same place regardless of the size of the billet so that it can be further processed, such as passing through an extrusion press.

By various aspects of this invention one or more of the following or other objects can be obtained.

It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for removing hot billets from a discharge end of a heating furnace wherein the billets are removed singularly regardless of the billet size.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for retrieving bill-ets from a furnace wherein each billet is brought to a given position for further processing regardless of the size of the billet.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for retrieving billets in which a billet retrieving member is pushed into the furnace until the billet is securely positioned on the retrieving member, and is then automatically stopped and withdrawn.

Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of this invention are apparent to one skilled in the art from a study of this disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims.

Briefly, the invention involves retrieving hot metal billets from a heating furnace by advancing a retrieving member into the furnace and forcing the end of the billet upwardly to such an extent that the billet will fall onto the retrieving member. A switch on the retrieving member contacts the billet when the billet falls onto the retrieving member. Responsive to the actuation of the switch, the billet retriever is stopped and withdrawn from the furnace. Means are provided for stabilizing the billet on the retriever as it is withdrawn from the furnace for further processing.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l shows Ia discharge end of a furnace relative to a retriever apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the retrieving apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with the furnace partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a lcross sectional view through lines III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a View similar to FIG. 4 showing the method of positioning the billet on the billet retriever;

FIG. 6 is a View similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 showing a further step in the positioning of the billet on the retriever;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines VIII-VIII of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a control system which can be employed in regulating the movement of the billet retriever.

Referring now to the drawings, a furnace 2, having an exit door 15, discharges billets 4 from the furnace on a retriever 6. The billets are positioned outside of the furnace and are pushed by a lpusher 10 from the billet retriever 6 and/or the track in which the billet retriever 6 rides onto a downwardly inclined surface 8. The billets are then further processed by passing them to an extrusion press.

In the furnace, the billets 4 are pushed by other billets onto .a rail 14. When it is desirable to remove the billets 4 from the exit end of the furnace, the billet retriever 6 is advanced into the furnace until the forward wedging end 18 contacts the outermost end of billet 4. As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the forwardmost end of the billet retriever 6 is tapered so that end 18 will slide beneath the outer end of billet 4. As the billet retriever continues t advance into the furnace, the billet is lifted farther on its inner end as seen in FIG. 5. When the billet end has been raised so that the center of gravity is out- Wardly of the point of Contact with the billet retriever 6, the billet will fall onto the billet retriever as seen in FIG. 6. The falling of the billet 4 stops the forward motion of the billet retriever 6 when the billet 4 contacts an actuating button 52 on a switch 50. The billet retriever then begins its backward movement. The switch 50 is supported by plate 54 which is attached at either side to the side 7 of retriever 6. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the billet retriever 6 contains a pair 0f spaced plates 7 welded together with bars 11. The plates 7 are flanged outwardly at 9 to provide a positioning means for the billets 4 as they fall onto the billet retriever.

As the billet retriever continues its backward motion, the outer end of the billet strikes stop member 70. As can be seen from FIG. 2 which shows the retriever 6 in the rearmost position, the retriever will continue t-o move to the left as shown in FIG. 2 while the billet is retained by stop 70. Thus, the billet retriever will position the billet at the same position, i.e., at stop 70, each time it withdraws a billet from the furnace, regardless of the size of the billet. It will be further appreciated that the billet retriever will pick up only one billet, regardless of the diameter or length of the billet. The billet retriever, however, is adapted to advance into the furna-ce to pick up any size billet. The reason that the retriever only picks up one billet is that the retriever is stopped as soon as the end billet falls onto the retriever.

The billet retriever 6 is positioned between flanges 24 and on plates 26 (FIG. 7). When the billet is positioned against stop 70 and the billet retriever is completely withdrawn, the billet will rest at least in part on the flanges 24. The plates 26 are supported by vertical support members 28 which in turn are affixed to longitudinal support beams 30.

A pair of flanges 32 is supported through members 33 and .attached to the inner portions of vertical support members 28. These flanges carry rails 34 on which ride wheels 3S which are attached to cart 40 which supports the retriever 6 through a vertical connecting member 20. The vertical connecting member 20l rides in a slot between plates 26. The cart is prevented from tipping by upper rails 36 which `are attached to flanges 37 affixed to vertical support members 28.

The cart 40 is moved along its track by a fluid operated cylinder 42. The fluid cylinder contains a piston having a pair of flexible connecting members, such as cables 45, attached to either side thereof and extending out of either end of the cylinder 42. The flexible members are positioned on rollers 46 and 48 and attached to either end of cart 40. Thus, as the piston in the piston cylinder 42 moves from one side to the other, the cart will move in an opposite direction.

When the billet hits stop member 70, it actuates a switch 72 which is connected to valve 73 which in turn regulates fluid passing into fluid cylinder 74. A piston rod 76 is operated by fluid cylinder 74 to rotate connecting link 78 about shaft 80, thereby moving the pusher means 10. Connecting members 78 and pusher member 10 are both fixably attached to rod 80. Thus, the billet end striking stop 70 actuates the pusher 10 to remove the billet from the retriever and/ or retriever track. Alternately, the switch 72 can also stop the backward movement of the retrievers.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simple control system which can be employed in operating the cylinder 42. The switch 50 on retriever 6 is connected to a four-way valve 56 which regulates the flow of fluid to either end of the hydraulic cylinder 42. As illustrated, a reservoir 58 contains hydraulic fluid which is supplied through pump 60, line 62, line 64 to the right side of cylinder 42. The fluid is exhausted from the left side of cylinder 42 containing piston 43 through line 66, valve 56 and line 68. When the switch 50 is actuated, the valve switches to the second position (not shown) in which the fluid will be exhausted from the right end of the cylinders through line 64, valve 56, line 68 to reservoir 5S. Conversely, the fluid will be supplied t-o line 62, valve 56, line 66 to the left end of cylinder 42 thereby forcing piston 43 to the right to withdraw retriever 6 containing billet 4 from the furnace.

Other kinds of control systems can be employed. For example, cylinder 42 can be an air-actuated cylinder in which air pressure is supplied through a four-way valve, one port of which serves to relieve the pressure in one end of the cylinder.

Other control switch mechanisms can be employed in actuating the cylinder 42 to contr-ol the movement of retriever 6. For example, a mechanical linkage can be actuated by the falling of billet 4 onto the retriever. The mechanical linkage can be connected to a valve such as four-way valve 56 to regulate the pressure to either end of the cylinder.

The invention lcan be employed for the removal of billets such as aluminum, brass, copper, steel or other material from a furnace and for positioning the billets of all sizes t-o be further processed.

Whereas the invention has been described with reference to a particular pusher mechanism, it is to be understood that other means for removing the billets from the retrieving member can be employed. For example, a bar could be positioned angularly over the track in such a fashion that the billet would be removed from the retriever as it was drawn away from the furnace. Alternately, the retriever member itself can actuate a mechanical linkage which, through a pusher bar, removes the billet from the retriever. Any pusher mechanism employed can use the same power source or separate power sources as the retriever member.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing, this device is particularly suited for high temperature furnace operations where the temperature is in the range of l500 F. to 2500 F. The periodic retrieving motion permits the use of a completely closeable insulated door so that the temperature outside the furnace remains cool between discharges. Further, the short time in which the retriever is within the furnace and in contact with the billet does not appreciably heat the discharge mechanism.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for withdrawing a billet from a discharge portion of a heating zone comprising: advancing a billet retriever having a wedging surface into said discharge portion of said heating zone, positioning the forward wedging surface beneath the outermost end of said billet to raise said billet end, advancing said billet retriever into said furnace to further raise said outermost end of said billet until said billet falls onto said retriever, stopping the forward movement of the retriever in response to the falling of the billet onto the retriever, and withdrawing retriever and said billet from said furnace.

2. A method for heating metal billets comprising: pushing said billets through a heating zone from an entrance portion thereof to a discharge portion thereof; advancing a billet retriever having a wedging surface into said discharge portion of said heating Zone; positioning the forward wedging surface beneath the outermost end of said billet to raise said billet end; advancing said billet retriever into said furnace to further raise said outermost end of said billet until said billet falls onto said retriever; stopping the forward movement of said retriever after said billet has fallen onto said retriever; and withdrawing said retriever and said billet from said furnice.

3. A billet discharging apparatus comprising:

(A) A billet retrieving member adapted to move into and out of the discharge end of a billet heating furnace;

(B) A tapered forward end on said billet retrieving member adapted to raise the outer end of a billet upwardly as the billet retrieving member is moved into the furnace such that said billet outermost end will be raised to such an extent that it will eventually fall onto said billet retrieving member to be wholly supported thereby;

(C) Means for moving said billet retrieving member into and out of said furnace;

(D) switch means associated with said billet retrieving member and said moving means to control the movement of said billet retrieving member so as to stop the movement of said billet retrieving member into said furnace and to commence the movement of said billet retrieving member out of said furnace, said switch means being actuated by said billet as it falls onto said billet retrieving member.

4. A billet discharging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said billet retrieving member comprises a pair of spaced plates which are flanged outwardly at the top portion thereof to thereby provide a positioning means for said billets.

5. A billet discharging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said switch means is positioned between said space plates.

`6. A bil-let discharging apparatus comprising:

(A) A billet retrieving member adapted to move into and out of the discharge end of a billet heating furnace;

(B) A tapered forward end on said billet retrieving member adapted to raise the outer end of a billet upwardly as the billet retrieving member is moved into the furnace such that said billet outermost end will be raised to such an extent that it will eventually fall onto said billet retrieving member to be wholly supported thereby;

(C) Means for moving said billet retrieving member into and out of said furnace;

(D) Stop means provided a spaced distance from the exit end of said furnace and over said billet retrieving member to limit the movement of said billet away from said furnace exit end after being withdrawn from said furnace.

7. A billet discharging apparatus comprising:

(A) A billet retrieving member adapted to move into and out of the discharge end `of a billet heating furnace;

(B) A tapered forward end on said billet retrieving member adapted to raise the outer end of a billet upwardly as the billet retrieving member is moved into the furnace such that said billet outermost end will be raised to such an extent that it will eventually fall onto said billet retrieving member to be wholly supported thereby;

(C) Means for moving said billet retrieving member into and out of said discharge end of said billet heating furnace;

(D) A billet transfer surface positioned adjacent said furnace exit end, with one side of said surface being positioned adjacent a side of said. billet retrieving member; and

(E) Pusher means adjacent said billet retrieving member on an opposite side from said billet transfer surface, said pusher -member being adapted to push said billet from said billet retrieving member onto said billet transfer surface for further processing.

8. A billet discharging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein there is provided a stationary stop means a spaced distance from the exit end of said furnace and over said billet retrieving member to limit the movement of said billet away from said furnace exit end after being withdrawn from said furnace; a switch means is provided at said stop means, said switch means being connected to a power means which actuates said pusher means, said switch means is activated by a billet which is moved against said stop means, said switch means is adapted to actuate said power means to push said billet onto said billet receiving surface when said billet is moved against said stop means.

9. A billet discharging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said furnace exit end contains a rail comprising a pair of spaced plates onto which said rail said billets are moved, and said billet retrieving member is shaped so as to be positioned between said spaced plates with bil-let supporting surfaces extending above the top of said rail.

10. A billet discharging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said billet retrieving member is attached at its rear portion to said moving means, said moving means comprises a cart which is attached to said billet retrieving member, wheels are attached to said cart, said wheels being positioned on a track, an air cylinder means is attached to and adapted to actuate the movement of said cart on said track.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 775,196 11/1904 Somes 214-26 1,563,650 12/1925 Pleines 214-750 1,663,370 3/1928 Edwards.

1,828,762 10/1931 Brosius. 1,923,886 8/ 1933 Ray. 2,826,314 3/1958 Vander Pyl. 2,965,369 12/1960 Acker et al. 3,051,812 8/ 1962 Gschwender. 3,127,035 3/ 1964 Bourel. 3,305,109 2/1967 Kerr.

ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner'.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 214-152 

